What in the world does baby poop look like? What does breastfed baby poop look like? What does formula fed baby poop look like?
Let’s dive in shall we? First off your baby’s waste will change over the first week of its life. It actually will change in color and texture.
The first poop babies have is known as meconium. This stuff is thick, tar-like, dark greenish-blackish-brownish, really sticky stuff. Some babies are a little eager and release some meconium before birth! Your midwife/OB will likely let you know if this happened, as no one wants the baby to aspirate any meconium into their lungs. Although not unusual this means after the baby is born your baby may need to be looked over by a pediatrician. Others hold onto it a little longer and wait til they are on the outside of the womb saving it all for their parents to clean up!
Pro- tip: Since this dark substance is known to be pretty sticky some parents use a brand new bottle of olive oil to spread over their baby’s bum. Then the poop doesn’t stick to their bottoms and it is easier to wipe!
Here’s where your baby’s poop starts to change. Around day 2-4 of life your baby’s poop becomes less dark and transitions to a green color! In breastfed babies the poop will then turn to yellow by day 5. The poop may look seedy like there are little clumps in it. It may also be watery. So basically chunky mustard poo.
Formula fed babies’ poop will have a thicker consistency by day 5 and may have more of a brown/tan hue to it. Although yellow, green, and tan are all normal for all babies.
No matter how your baby is feeding, whether you are breastfeeding or are formula feeding, the one color we aren’t a fan of seeing is red! If there is blood in your baby’s stool it is time to call the doctor.
Ok great, so we got the poop color rainbow down! But how often will these little stinkers poop?
-Breastfed babies will make one poopy diaper for however many days old they are for the first week or so. So on day one, one poopy diaper. Day 2 of life you can expect 2 poopy diapers. By day 5 this trend may stop. The average newborn will poop anywhere from 4 – 12 times a day.
-Formula fed babies will on average have 3-4 poopy diapers a day.
What happens if my newborn baby doesn’t poop one day? This can be normal! If a breastfed baby goes longer than one day of no poops calling your doctor is advised. Formula fed babies can go a little longer but after 3 days a call to its doctor is advised.
Did you know you would be charting poops and pees?
It is common in the first 6 weeks to keep track of all poops and pees your precious bundle is making. This can help you see if too much time has gone between poops and it can show that your baby is eating and eliminating well. There are apps for that on your phone, or you can simply keep track with an old fashioned pen and paper. Whatever works for you! Once your baby is gaining well, eating well, and generally has no concerns you don’t have to track anymore.
As your baby ages their poop can begin to change too. Once you introduce solids you may see more brown, thick stuff. So prepare yourself. (Sometimes blueberries come out whole! Who knew?)
Who knew that becoming a parent meant becoming a poop specialist?
After reading this you now are aware of the colors and consistencies to expect of your newborn’s number twos! You will collect data on baby poo, aka the charting, and one day you and your partner may realize you have whole conversations about baby poop.
When in doubt reach out; your doula is happy to talk about all things baby poo with you. There is no TMI in the doula world. So give us a call!
Authored by: Andrea Stainbrook